As an aging Gen-Xer, anything related to the 1980s pop culture wise instantly grabs my attention. The upcoming 80s Symphonic takes 15 beloved tracks from the 1980s and gives them the 50-piece London Studio Orchestra treatment. A list of the songs features are below!
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Songs on 80s Symphonic have sold over 20 million copies and over 20 countries (and discredit goes to me for having never heard of this collection!). The album’s orchestrations are from producer/arranger Andy Wright, whose career includes work with Simple Minds, Eurythmics, Simply Red, Jeff Beck, and Massive Attack. “Take On Me” from a-ha is currently available on Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon, and as much as I love the original version, this latest iteration reaches similar heights (the orchestration complements the track’s soaring chorus).
“Opening up the tape boxes of the biggest Warner’s hits form the 80’s was like all my Christmases rolled into one,” said Wright. “Having them the opportunity of augmenting the original performances with the original performances with a 50-piece Symphonic Orchestra has been a dream job. My first call was to my long-time collaborator Sam Swallow – Sam and I have tried to respectfully represent the musicality of the instrumental members of these great bands with Sam judiciously adding additional touches. It could be argued that these records cannot be improved, but . . .!”
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The tracks were recorded over three days by the London Studio Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios. The new version of David Bowie’s 1983 hit “Let’s Dance” was arranged by original producer Nile Rodgers, who admitted he approached the project with “trepidation.” “In fact my only concern was to protect David’s artistic vision and integrity,” said Bowie. “In the end I’m very grateful that we did this, as I believe anyone who loves the original will be excited by it. I’m certain David would approve from above.”
The CD/Digital versions of 80s Symphonic will be available November 9 with a Double Vinyl Version coming out on December 7.
80s Symphonic Track Listing:
1.David Bowie – Let’s Dance*
2.a-ha – Take On Me
3.Simple Minds – Alive & Kicking
4.Ultravox – Vienna
5.Echo & The Bunnymen – The Killing Moon
6.Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy
7.Howard Jones – What Is Love?
8.Tina Turner – What’s Love Got To Do With It
9. Simply Red – Holding Back The Years
10. Chris Rea – Josephine
11. Chicago – Hard Habit To Break
12. Roxette – It Must Have Been Love
13.Foreigner – I Want To Know What Love Is
14.The Cars – Drive
15.Pretenders – 2000 Miles
